Mystical Love by Rachel James

back his head and roared with laughter.
    â€œI forgot to check.”
    Janice’s laughter bubbled up, joining his. Beside her, Muriel’s sweet laugh chimed in.
    â€œPsychic dolt!”
    Laughter pealed again and the trio settled down, rewarming their coffee and waiting for Lloyd’s return. Janice was relieved to find her thoughts were a million miles away from erotic images, shattered crystal, and Adrian Magus.

Chapter 8
    FRIDAY — 9:00 PM
    Outside the solarium window, lightning specks arced wildly through a scribble of clouds, lighting up the ebony sky. Witnessing the spectacle from the window seat where he lounged, Adrian marveled at such brutal beauty. He had no clear view of the tall cliffs covered in ice and snow, but the snowflakes sticking to the glass pane inches from his face were undeniable clues that the weather outside had not changed since their arrival. It was still January, dreary trench-coat weather, accompanied by a bone-numbing cold. Yet as he watched another pitchfork of light fan and hang to the earth, he felt a familiar fear resurge within him. Which part of his life was reality and which part was the illusion? For so many years, he had been able to tell the difference and keep them separate. Now his life was as strange and mysterious as the lightning storm showering the winter sky.
    Why did none of the others suspect the lightning overhead might be linked to their headaches in some way? Adrian put a sudden brake on the thought. Janice suspected. She had hinted as much at the dinner table earlier. To her credit, she had been born with brains as well as beauty. His mind braked down hard on that thought, too. He couldn’t allow himself to think of Janice’s beauty. When their minds had collided earlier, had they simultaneously tapped into some long ago memory, his wishful thinking, or an experience about to occur between them?
    Hearing a soft creak, Adrian turned to find Ginger curling onto the window seat inches from his toes. Her eyes scanned the night sky with as much concern as his first had. His mouth curved upward and he reached out and brushed her cheek lightly.
    â€œWhat’s the matter, O’Toole? Ain’t ya never seen a lightning concert before?”
    She turned to him with a worried look and Adrian saw her usual exuberance had fled. It was obvious she was frightened and her stilted words confirmed it.
    â€œI’m scared, Adrian.”
    Adrian gave her cheek another light tap and chuckled.
    â€œScared of what?”
    â€œThis place … the glass exploding in your hand … ” She nailed him with a curious stare. “It wasn’t an accident, was it?” Her tinge of panic urged Adrian to cover her hands with his.
    â€œI’d be lying if I said I was holding the glass tight. I wasn’t.”
    â€œDid she do it?”
    â€œWho?”
    â€œMiss Kelly. The glass exploded just as she entered the room.”
    Adrian countered hastily, squeezing Ginger’s slim fingers.
    â€œNo. Miss Kelly didn’t do it.”
    â€œHow can you be so sure? What do you really know about these people? You’re strangers meeting for the first time.”
    Strangers! Could he explain to Ginger that only two of them were strangers? That he knew one of them intimately, better than she knew herself? Adrian looked away, his gaze resettling on the outside darkness. For the moment, the night sky was quiet, devoid of any telltale patterns of light. Observing the inky blackness, Adrian realized it matched the dark foreboding in his own mind. Could he tell Ginger the unvarnished truth about his recurring boyhood dreams of Janice and expect her to understand? Could he add their recent mind collision to the story and expect her to understand what he himself didn’t yet? No, he couldn’t reveal the truth to anyone. Not while he remained in his present state of confusion. Maybe later — when he was more in control and had deciphered what